Scaramouch, scaramouch, something about Fandango?

scaramouch

From the seventeenth century, this term has indicated a lazy, swaggering coward. Based on a character from early Italian comedy who was often pummeled for his knavish actions, the word as a verb meant to act in such a manner. The meaning of waht later became skirmish was soon broadened to include encounters between groups of soldiers. Shakespeare used the expression "skirmish of wit" in 1599 to indicate verbal confrontation. The nineteenth-century rugby term scrummage and the related American footbal term scrimmage are other modern adaptations.


(from Carmen's Forgotten English Knowledge Cards)

Gimp period: extended

Coming home this weekend!!

Also, I'm quite pissed at myself - I threw a ball wrong in rugby today and twisted my wrist in a way that apparently a fractured wrist isn't supposed to be twisted. And now it hurts like crazy.

*sigh* I guess that means no more passing the rugby ball around. And I may have just ruined my chance at getting a splint on next Friday, rather than another cast.

Someday I'll be a real rugger...

Right now I am listening to "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots: Part 1" by The Flaming Lips on Carmen and Neil's Radio show. It is an awesome song, even more so because it was dedicated to me!! It makes me feel very warm and fuzzy inside =^_^=

In other exciting news, today at rugby practice I got to pass the ball back and forth!!!!!

This was a VERY big moment for me. I didn't realize how much I'd missed it until I was back in there touching the ball and participating.

Then everyone else did a bunch of contact drills and it was back to being a gimp. But for one shining moment, I was a real player again!

AUWRFC New Jersey Fall Break Tour 2005

This weekend was KICK ASS. I loved rugby before (obviously, if even a fractured wrist and a cast past the elbow couldn't dissuade me from the game), but I'm obsessed now. I love playing rugby, watching rugby, talking about rugby, and hanging out with people who play rugby.

The weekend started Saturday morning at 7 am, when we met at The Spot in the rain and got our tour T shirts (Front: "AUWRFC FALL BREAK TOUR 2005," back: "AMERICAN UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S RUGBY: MAKIN' JERSEY JUST A LITTLE MORE DIRTY"). Then we dashed for the cars and loaded up - I was with Garthie, VD, and Petrides.

After four or so hour of driving and singing, we arrived at Princeton's pitch. Petrides helped me saran-wrap, duct tape, and plastic bag my cast, and thus waterproofed I helped in any way I could to set up for two games (against Westchester and Princeton) in the driving rain.

It was AMAZING. The games were shortened to two 20 min halves each, rather than two 40 min halves (on account of the weather). The team played excellently, and (quite contrary to my expectations, given the weather and my inability to play) I had a marvelous time running up and down the touch line screaming and watching and analyzing and learning.

After two great games (except for the last 5 min of the Princeton game, but we won't talk about that), everyone stripped off most of their wet clothes, threw them in plastic bags, and we drove the hour and a half to Maddy's house, where we engaged in hot tubbing, showering, laundering, eating, and general hanging out until everyone drifted off to sleep.

Sunday we went to a mystery pitch in South Jersey to play TCOJ. Thankfully it had stopped raining, but the team's performance didn't lift with the weather. For some reason we played three 30 min thirds (instead of the normal two 40 min halves), and in the first two we were just falling apart. Finally, in the third we picked it up and took the game back on our terms and ended in a huge rush (despite several injuries).


But that's basically it for the weekend. I got a few hours of sleep, woke up and helped pick up, then ate breakfast, packed, and headed out. I miss these girls already and can't wait for Wednesday's practice.

This is my cast :(

3 weeks. And then 3 weeks with a short arm cast.

I miss my arm already.

Right wrist fractured (saphoid (?) bone). Not v. easy to type, also v. tired and no drugs yet. Just an FYI as this journal prolly not uber updated fo 4-6 weeks. Can't play rugby either. V. sad :(

ETA: Scaphoid bone.

REAL women ruck!!

So today, I got up at 8 am to play RUGBY (if you hadn't guessed it already, you're going to be hearing a LOT about this sport). It was SO MUCH FUN. We played a sort of round robin style thing - instead of one game with two forty minute halves, we played 3 or 4 games with two 20 minute halves.

Then, at the very end of the day, we played a quick 30-minute game of our A-side versus a motley team of a few players from a different (and good) team - maybe Marymount? - and some of our B-siders. Including me. I had been playing wing (whose job is to basically not do anything unless she has to), but for this game I played outside center. Centers are still a back position, but they do a LOT more tackling and running with the ball. It just felt so good to play- I'm totally hooked.

However, during one of my tackles in the last game I messed up my wrist something awful. I'm not sure exactly what I did, but it's swollen and hurts like a bitch - I'm typing this entry laboriously with one hand as the injured one objects too much to being moved. I've got it wrapped and icing, and hopefully it'll start feeling better soon.

Rugby is FUN!

Today I went to Bethesda and bought a mouthguard and cleats for rugby. Not too exciting, but I always enjoy going somewhere I've never been before and finding it by myself (I asked a very nice postal officer).

Then - RUGBY PRACTICE. Wow, rugby is SO MUCH FUN. I mean - doing a sport is always fun, and there's SO much emphasis on group work. We do running and drills "in line," meaning we literally have to stay in a line with the other players. Plus there's no way to break the ice like shoving your shoulder into her crotch, wrapping your arms around her thighs and dragging her to the ground as you pillow your head in her ass - all while wearing an ill-fitting mouthguard that prevents normal speech and makes you feel even stupider than you already do because you have no idea how to tackle. AND we all went to to the dining hall afterwards. And I have a rucking pad in my room. And bruises.

Lots of bruises.

Sports practice

Today, I woke up and went to rugby practice, and from thence to the rookie BBQ (they didn't BBQ us - they fed us). It was SO fun - all the girls playing seem awesome, and I've been christened "Pink" by Maddy, the captain (I even had to change my nametag). This is going to be great.

Then I returned to campus and hung out for a bit before going to soccer practice. When did I become this athletic, sporty girl!? Nonetheless, it was fun - we had a very relaxed practice, albeit in a unmown field with a high bug population.

And now, I'm fresh and so clean clean from the shower that I've wanted more than any shower in my life: first, obviously from rugby/soccer sweat and grass particles and bugs, but also because I haven't showered since I dyed my hair pink, and I still had dye EVERYWHERE and it was beginning to get to me.

Bruise-y activity switch...

So yesterday, I made the split decision to replace ninjaing with rugby for the semester. I decided this because:

a) I've always wanted to try rugby anyways
b) Ninja was going to be expensive (like $400) while rugby will be cheap ($55)
c) The idea of going all the way out to the studio by myself on an hour-long metro ride just to pay someone $400 for something I could do through school for free next semster kind of made me unhappy
d) I can always switch back to ninja if I like it more, or stay in rugby if I like it

So we'll see!